Miniature incandescent lamps are used as a light source for large area lighting panels which are used in a variety of different products as for example watches, clocks, pagers, hand-held computers, electronic organizers and the like. The lamps may also be used independently to illuminate condition indicators such as on-off indicators, the exposed surfaces of an LCD or lighting panel, and the like. The lamp is typically mounted to an associated circuit which includes the power source for illuminating the lamp. Although the axial ends of the leads projecting from the lamp envelope may be used to mount the lamp to a circuit board, this requires manipulation of the fragile leads to bring the leads into contact with the associated circuit and does not allow for automatic assembly. Some lamps include metal end caps on either end to facilitate mounting of the lamp to the circuit board and allow the use of automated equipment. The leads are affixed to the metal caps which are then positioned in contact with the associated circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,838 discloses a surface mount miniature incandescent lamp which includes open-ended caps filled with a resilient material.
The miniature lamp assemblies are typically mounted to a circuit board by soldering the leads, metal end caps or the like to solder bond pads on the surface of the board to connect the lamps to the associated circuitry. Although lamps having metal end caps are easier to install, the end caps increase the number of components employed in the lamp assembly. A miniature incandescent lamp offering the stability and ease of handling of the metal end caps with a minimum number of components is desirable. A surface mount system which facilitates the installation of the lamp on the circuit board is desirable. Other electrical components, such as diodes, capacitors, resistors and the like, are often mounted to a circuit board by soldering leads to solder bond pads or the like on the circuit board. A surface mount system which may be conveniently and efficiently used to mount other electrical components to a circuit board is also desirable.